My birthday

Yesterday was my 34th birthday and I felt really special. I woke up to a cute message from Danny on my phone that read: 5:17 am - Good morning birthday girl....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  Throughout the day,  I had tons of messages on my phone, and my voice mail, on my Instagram, and on Facebook from lots of people I love!!  I most always hate media crap - but yesterday it definitely made em smile!!

Everyone in my immediate family actually remember this year (which most times doesn't happen!).  Ceci had given me a beautiful cross for my birthday on Sunday morning...

and I came home from work to find that the girls had decorated the house for me, and made me signs and banners and a cake for my birthday!! I was pretty impressed!

Danny bought me a new pair of LuluLemon workout pants (which are stupid expensive and I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!) I have only bought one pair before, but I love em so much that most weeks you can catch me in them at least 3 times a week...so him taking the time to go to the Galleria to buy me another pair, and check for the right size and style...made me feel pretty important!!

The girls put a lot of work into their decorating and baking and signs and what not - so I was feeling pretty darn special!! They made my day fantastic!!

After I opened my gift and ate a cupcake, we headed to karate class for Isabella.  Afterwards, we picked up a pizza and relaxed for awhile.  Makaila said that she wanted to treat us all to ice cream after our class for my birthday!!  Who am I to turn down my baby girls offer of ice cream for my birthday!?!?!

We went back to the karate school awhile later for our class, and then straight to Baskin Robins afterwards!!!

True to her word Makaila bought us all an ice cream treat for my birthday!!!

It was yet another reality check of how big my baby has gotten! We came home and then my friend Vicky came by for awhile.  She was so sweet - she brought me a cake, a bottle of sparkling rose wine and a gift!!!  She gave me the most darling apron which I loved and a great cook book that she said obligated me to making her something delicious to taste! LOL 

We hung out for awhile and enjoyed a glass of wine and some catching up!! I had a fantastic birthday!!

I am utterly grateful for having such amazing family and friends that make my life so phenomenal!!  I am grateful for another year on earth to enjoy this life before I go to meet my maker!  I am grateful for all my blessings and look forward to another fantastic year filled with fantastic memories!!!!

Thank you to everyone who made this birthday so great!!!! I am still smiling ear to ear.  So happy - that I will even be 34 today (instead of the ever faithful 28 that I have claimed to be for many many years!! 

Weekend Rewind - 4th of July

What a fantastic weekend!

It was 4 days long and it included a lot of relaxing ,sitting on the couch, finishing the second season of Orange is the New Black (great show - if you haven't seen it - you need too).

Thursday morning I had to call in for a phone conference for work for about an hour and a half.  Then Isabella and I headed out to the Galleria.  Word to to the wise...traffic on 6-10 headed to the Galleria is a nightmare!! I was stuck in it almost an hour and that only got me to 290!  I got off and took back road to get me the rest of the way there.  Issy and I had lunch and then did a little shopping.  I got her a few Frozen things at the Disney store, I bought hangers at Arden B (They were going out of business and I liked the sturdy wooden hangers).  We headed to Nordstrom and I bought a pair of wedges I had my eyes on for awhile, and a bracelet that was on sale for pretty cheap.  I got two shirts at Banana Republic, and then went into Gymboree and bought Issy several cute summer outfits and some dresses for school.  They were having great sale prices, so I ended up getting 6 outfits and 2 dresses for $70...not bad!!

We left there and headed to Dillard's.  I ended up buying several outfits that were marked down tremendously for Issy (school clothes).  I got 14 outfits for her at less than half price, that were all cute and colorful and ruffly...and all in size 6 so they are good for school!

I got a pair of shoes for both Isabella and Makaila and one for myself (for good measure), and after that we headed home!! I was a little scared that I had spent so much, so I headed straight home...no more stops!

Makaila came home shortly after we did, and we all started to clean up the house a bit and then I got to cleaning my closet and replacing all my plastic hangers with the new wooden ones!  I spent the rest of the night cleaning closet and trying on clothes and what not.

Our neighbor Abby came over (Makaila had agreed to baby sit her) at about 9pm, and she played dress up with Issy, and they played dolls and then watched movies until Abby fell asleep.  We all called it a night and when I woke up at 7:30 everyone was still sound asleep.  I talked to Danny for a bit when he came home and then went back to bed!

I woke up again at 9, and still everyone was asleep.  I ate some cereal and at about 9:40 Abby and Makaila finally woke up.  Amy came to get her and paid Makaila, and so instantly she wanted to go to the store! LOL

We woke up Issy, got ready and then I took them to the store.  We ended up at Hobby Lobby because Makaila wanted some art supplies.  While she was at the Davenports house she rekindled her love of drawing and painting...so she used her baby sitting money to but acrylic pains, and media paper, and canvases and paintbrushes!! I was impressed!

We came home and while Makaila painted a new picture for Alec, I worked on the fabric monogramming kit I bought at Hobby Lobby! LOL

We did our respective crafts for a few hours and then at about 4, we got ready and headed over to Tio Ernie's to celebrate the 4th of July!!!

We stopped and bought drinks, waters, cake, chips, dips, avocados, and some wine!  The rest of the evening was spent, eating, laughing, playing Uno, and having fun with family!  It was very relaxing and fun!

We got home really late on Thursday...it was after 1 am! We took the party seriously! LOL
We slept in a little on Saturday and at about 10, I went to the groceries and started baking cupcakes,and brownie cookies.  I finally woke the girls up at about noon, and they got ready, we headed to another store for food, and then got home at about 3:30...we got Danny up and then we all headed out to Ernie and Sarahs for party #2!  We decided to follow up our 4th of July party with a little birthday gathering to celebrate Carlos and Makaila's birthdays!

We ate frito pie, and chicken tostadas, and then we all sang Happy Birthday with some homemade cupcakes, and spent the rest of the evening lounging and laughing and munching!  Lovely!

Sunday morning was just as great.  We woke up and got ready for church as a family.  Ceci Ray and Victoria and Makaila showed up at about 9:30 and we finished up getting ready and then headed to church.  it was great...Dr. Lowery is giving a 5 week teaching on Stress called "All Stressed up and No where to Blow.....LOL I love love love Dr. Lowery so I was pretty syched!  Not to mention I was Doc in the lobby which meant worship service would be extra special this Sunday!  He gets things grooving when he is in our church!

Church Notes:
* Make progress and have peace  - Do not let your worth be determined by your work!
* A magic trick to not getting all stressed out is exercise...we ned to be physically able to handle ourselved in order to absorb and handle the stress!
* If your a couch potato, you'll eventually become a Grouch potato and maybe even a mashed potato! LOL (Dr. Lowery's analogies are the best)
* The joy of the Lord is our strength
* If your running out of smiles - then take that as a warning that your close to being burned out!
* You can relax when you have total trust in the Lord
How to feel the BEST
B - create boundries and know the good from the bad
E - Enjoy.  Joy on the inside is the best way to handle stress on the outside
S - Serve - do for others
T - Tell yourself who you are

Do you want to have peace in your progress - its all in how you think!

* If you can see God in the situation: then you can see God in it
* Most people love gripping and complaining ; focus instead on the things that make you happy.
* If you give people the power of your focus - you will be miserable
* Live your life in a pace of grace!
* If your looking down your depressed : if your looking around your stressed ; if your looking pup - your smiling!!

Church was great!! I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the message, the worship, the company - all of it!!

Once service was over - we decided to all go out to eat lunch together at Italiano's.  The food was great.  We stuffed our faces, then the Ramirez's headed home and so did we!  We sat around, and I watched some tv, then got bored.  Danny took a nap and I took off to get a pedicure!! (Long over due too).  I came back and it was storming.  Danny had gone to pick up Zoe who will be stay with us all week (Makaila's "bestie" who moved away this school year - so she is pretty excited!).  We all headed to Lowe's and then to Bahama Bucks for a mid afternoon treat!

We got home from Bahama Bucks and I checked movie times, then headed out solo once again to watch Tammy at the movie tavern! It was hilarious!! It was a great movie....I wish Danny would have joined me - but he didn't want to go (and never does), so I didn't let it stop me! I enjoyed the movie solo, then came home and got ready for the week.

Our weekend was fun, slow, and perfect.  Danny was off Saturday and Sunday and I loved having him around for a change!

He is on vacation soon - so I will get to see him plenty.  As a matter of fact - we will be pretty busy traveling for the next few days.  We are headed to World Championships in Little Rock this coming weekend, then to Vegas, and then I have a girls trip in San Antonio, and a business trip to Chicago - so we will hopefully get to enjoy some quality time together soon enough!!


We hope you have a good week, filled with smiles instead of stress!!!

Short Week

After we celebrated Makaila's birthday we called it a night on Sunday....Monday during the day Makaila asked if Kristen could spend the night.  I said sure and we headed over to pick her up.  The girls stayed up and laughed and giggles all night.  Literally - ALL NIGHT!  I woke up to pee at 3:30 and they were all still awake.  Isabella was watching cupcake wars on the i-pad and Makaila and Kristen were giggling about God knows what in the room.  I shut it all down and went back to bed!

Tuesday I got home and made dinner, went to Hit, then we went to leadership class and adult class.  We went home and did the usual, laundry, clean up, showers and bed!

Wednesday was a busy day at work and I decided to stay a little late to be able to take the next day off!

I came home and decided that there would be no more karate for the rest of the week too!  The girls are getting pretty worn out and Worlds is only a week away...so I thought we all deserved a little break!!

Makaila made plans to go stay with the Davenports Wednesday night, and so Isabella and I hung out, went to Target, and Michael's, and TJ Maxx for the evening.  it was nice to not feel rushed or pressured to be somewhere for a change!  Karate is really time consuming in our household.

I'll be off until Monday, so I am going to enjoy my four day weekend with my babies!!

I hope all of you have a safe and fun filled 4th.......See ya on Monday!

Weekend Rewind - Makaila's Birthday

Friday after work I came home to clean house and get ready for scrapbooking!

I had to create a fourth of July layout because I didn't go pick up the close to my heart layouts.  LOL  My faithful scrapbookers didn't seem to mind.  Margaret and Teresea came over and we did our layouts and chit chatted for awhile.  At about 8pm my neighbor Amy came by and we sat around having some girl talk and wine until about 1am!

I went to bed right after Amy left because Issy and I had a birthday party at 10 am...and I still needed to go buy a gift!

I woke up at 7:30 when Danny got home from work, and got showered and ready for the day, then headed out to Target to gift shop.  I got a few unnecessary things as is customary when going to Target, and then before I knew it, it was 10 am!  I woke Issy up and got her ready and we headed over to Jumpapalooza for Alex's birthday party.  It was mainly all the kids from her karate class which was nice.  Makaila started texting at 8 am - which was nice...she was up and happy as can be.  To this point too.....Gina had texted me in just about every state they went through to let me know their progress and when they arrived and everything so it was nice!!

We stayed for the whole party and afterwards, walked into the furniture store next door.  I bought a nice floor length mirror on a stand for Makaila and headed home.  We offloaded her mirror (which at this point Issy had decided was her birthday gift to Makaila). It was raining outside and Issy was zoned into the I-pad watching cupcake wars, so I decided to get crafty and make a new wreath for our front door.

   At about 2pm, Cristina came over with the kids.  My neighbors Sean and Nina went out of town on a couples weekend and asked me and her mom to watch the kids.  How can I not, after all she does for our girls!  They stayed with us Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon and it was a piece of cake!! They were so good.  They did the typical sibling bickering from time to time, but they never really cried or fought or anything...it was fantastic!

We played, watched tv, and then went outside to play with the other kids on the block, and by 9 the Webster kids were worn out!  I took them baths, gave Gracie some medicine (she was feeling warm), and they konked out by 9:30!

For the most part they slept though the night...but they are early risers, so by 6am - they were up.  Gracie still felt warm, so I gave her more Tylenol and we laid around all morning watching tv, until about 10.  I wasn't brave enough to take 3 kids to church with me alone....so I had to skip service this morning.  (I will log in later to get the message).

We all called Makaila to wish her a Happy Birthday - can you believe it...my baby girl is 14!!!!!!!!!

I missed her so freakin much while she was gone!  Nina and Sean came by for their babies at around noon, and Issy and I got into Birthday mode...we make birthday cupcakes and cake in teal and white (teal is her favorite color), we went and bought birthday banners and made posters and streamers and then blew up a gazillion balloons.  I went to the store and bought everything we needed for homemade lasagna (her favorite).  I got to making dinner and at about 7 our birthday girl got home!!!!!!!

We really had missed her.  She was so tired when she came home.  We ate dinner and she told us all about her trip.  Then we went to Bahama Bucks for a birthday treat.  We sang her Happy Birthday and ate some cupcakes, then hugged on the couch while we watched movies.

It was a great weekend.  We are a blessed bunch of folks.  Especially blessed on this fabulous weekend to be able to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the birth of our princess. Makaila is a strong, driven, faithful, beautiful girl that I am utterly prideful of.  She is a fantastic big sister.  She is healthy and happy and her laughter is a beautiful sound.  Her smile is contagious, her heart is gigantic and I love her to pieces.  Happy birthday baby girl!!  I hope all your birthday wishes come true and I pray you know how loved and appreciated you are!!!!